Despite modern office spaces seeing significant changes and upgrades with shifts in workplace culture and trends, there are still common threads that stand the test of time.
What stays the same are efforts and desires to create a welcoming and inviting office space interior design that not only boosts workplace productivity but also allows your employees, customers, and clients to be comfortable.
To help you achieve a significant change in your workplace environment, we have compiled some design tricks and tips you can include in your future office renovation design plans.
1. Brightening up the space with colours
Changing the colour of your workplace interior is one of the most effective ways to upgrade the look and aesthetic, especially if you want to design a welcoming and inviting atmosphere for everybody stepping into your office.
However, before deciding on the choice of colours and engaging professional painters, it is vital to understand how colours can impact your workplace differently. This will help to influence your choice of colours and their varying shades to help boost productivity and overall well-being. For example, blue is more commonly used in a more analytical working environment, while purple is more commonly used in creative agencies.
2. Hang creative wall decorations
Every brand has a story to convey – something that is completely unique to them. To ensure that the message is conveyed to anybody who steps into the office, you can consider creative avenues, such as hanging custom wall art.
The best manner to do so is to choose vibrant, exciting colours that will not only complement your overall office design but also complement your brand. Alternatively, you could go for inspiring images that showcase your brand’s story or fun anecdotes that capture your office culture.
Alternatively, you can opt to incorporate sustainable and biophilic features, such as moss walls or cabinets with planter boxes. Not only do they double as creative wall decorations, but the added greeneries helps to improve the overall mood in the office as well as keep the air clean.
3. Lighting is crucial
Sufficient lighting is vital for your employees' general productivity and health. Additionally, it can impact your visitors positively, attracting more partners and clients. Hence, it is vital that as you plan for your office renovation, that priority is also placed on achieving ideal lighting. Yet, despite its importance, it is often an overlooked design aspect.
One general rule of thumb to ensure that you have adequate lighting in the office is to layer lighting to incorporate the three key types of lighting: accent, task, and ambient. For example, wall-mounted lights are accent fixtures, LED downlights are ambient fixtures, and table lamps are tasked fixtures. Ensuring that all three key types of lighting are available allows for flexible and purposeful usage when necessary.
4. Vary flooring materials
Flooring takes up a significant portion of your office. Not only does it add an element of visual appeal to the office space, but it is also capable of enhancing functionality by handling high traffic levels and sound absorbance. Depending on your specific needs and budget limitations, you can vary the flooring by:
Installing durable and long-lasting hardwood floors in areas with high traffic levels, such as the reception area.
Incorporating a suitable office rug in your meeting rooms to aid in absorbing access noise.
Defining different key spaces or areas in the office with different flooring materials.
Relying on tiles in areas where you want to reduce heat.
5. Getting rid of clutters
Decluttering is an efficient and straightforward habit to boost the comfort of the office, making it look neater and more inviting. Besides keeping your company happy and giving your visitors a good impression, an organised office also helps to ensure that your company runs smoothly, preventing unnecessary injuries and hazards.
One of the most straightforward ways to get rid of clutters is to increase storage spaces by offering additional organisers, shelves, and drawers or tidying up all the cables.
6. Create different gathering spaces
This is probably one of the most recommended design tips that we have mentioned in our articles. We cannot emphasise enough the importance of planning functional spaces. A crucial element of designing an inviting office is to have adequate and proper spaces that encourage employees and visitors to collaborate, converse, and gather.
Here are some ways you can incorporate such an idea into your design plan:
Invest in comfortable furniture, such as armchairs, coffee tables, and beanbags.
Include play areas with items, such as ping pong tables, pool tables, or gaming consoles.
Use soft lighting.
Create quiet zones for individuals who might be more sensitive to noises, introverts, or need to rush their work.
Conclusion
Transforming your workplace into one that is welcoming and inviting does not necessarily require a total office makeover. Taking small steps, such as playing with bright colours or conducting light A&A works, can provide a significant change in a workplace environment that makes your office more attractive and happier to work at.
Here at OSCA, we know the importance of having a welcoming and inviting workplace. As one of the leading commercial interior design firms in Singapore, we ensure that our office design is welcoming to our clients and employees, assuring our clients that their renovation projects will be completed with the utmost design experience. Looking to renovate your office? Contact us to find out more!